Maritime museum dumps entry fees

As Russell Crowe fans prepare for the Sydney premiere of his nautical movie, Master and Commander, Australia's National Maritime Museum has itself entered uncharted waters.

It was announced yesterday that the Darling Harbour institution has scrapped its admission charges.

For a six-month trial, visitors can enter the museum for free. However, there will be charges to see special visiting exhibitions, or to go on board the historic vessels - the former RAN destroyer HMAS Vampire, and the submarine HMAS Onslow.

Mary-Louise Williams, the museum's director, said the museum's council had been urging the Federal Government "for some years" to drop the admission charges.

"We're the only Commonwealth museum outside Canberra," she said, pointing out that those in Canberra already had free admission.

The move brings it into line with the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art. However, the Australian Museum and the Powerhouse Museum - the maritime museum's most obvious competitors - will still charge.

Williams said the move had not been forced by any fears about dropping visitor numbers or falling revenue. Though visitors peaked at 460,000 in 2000, the Olympic year, numbers had since held "steady" around 310,000 - and had dropped only 5 per cent in the last financial year when tourism was hit by the Iraq war and the SARS crisis.

But she was convinced the number of Australian visitors would rise considerably: "A lot of people say they hadn't realised how interesting a maritime museum could be until they got inside."

There are plans to display more of the Australian Heritage Fleet, the largest of its kind in the world.

And though Master and Commander would renew interest in Australia's British links, she hoped even more Australians would be encouraged to visit because of the museum's connections with immigration and multiculturalism. "We've got 10,000 names on our Welcome Wall, and each one has a story to tell," Williams said.